NEW DELHI: Former India captain Rahul Dravid strongly believes that Indian Premier League (IPL) is “ready for expansion” in terms of number of teams without compromising on the quality as well as quantity of talent available in the country.
There are talks that the 2021 IPL will be featuring nine teams instead of eight and will go up to 10 teams by 2023, which has always been the BCCI’s long-term plan.
The views of Dravid, who is now the director of National Cricket Academy (NCA), were echoed by Rajasthan Royals co-owner Manoj Badale, who felt that a nine-team IPL in 2021 is “definitely possible”.
“I feel IPL is ready for expansion in terms of talent, if you look from talent perspective. There are a lot of talented players who are not getting an opportunity to play.”
Dravid said that if there are more teams, all the talented players could be fitted in and there won’t be a drop in quality.
“So I believe we are ready as there are lot of new names and faces in terms of talent perspective,” Dravid said during the virtual launch of Badale’s book ‘A New Innings’, which he co-authored with former English cricketer Simon Hughes.
Badale, as a stakeholder in the IPL, welcomed the idea of expansion and also spoke about various aspects that needs to be factored in.
“BCCI needs to take a decision and they will take a call on what would be the exact approach.
“Making a nine-team league in 2021 is definitely possible but as a consequence, you will have to have more afternoon games and maintain quality of the competition,” said Badale, a British citizen of Indian origin. (AGENCIES)
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